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Woman on Esplanade fends off an attacker on a bicycle

State Police report a woman walking on the Esplanade near the Mass. Ave. Bridge was attacked around 12:25 a.m. - by a man riding a bicycle who grabbed her around the waist.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports the woman, 22, sought help from a nearby person, who called 911.

The woman described the assailant as a Latino male in his mid-20s to early 30s, standing about 5’6” tall with a moustache and short, dark hair. Based on this description, investigators do not currently believe this suspect to be responsible for a series of unsolved sexual assaults in the same area during the summers of 2007 and 2009. The assailant’s description is generally similar to that of a man who pushed a woman to the ground in the area of the lagoon and then fled on foot at about 2:50 a.m. on May 24. Whether a connection exists between these two incidents remains under investigation.

to walk where there want without being attacked. Of course, we should be able to walk anywhere we want!

I understand, however, that there are bad folks in the world that may want to do me harm. I also understand that me walking at 1:00am, as an example, along the Esplanade might not be wise. So I would not walk on the Esplanade or in Boston Common, alone, at hours where most folks are in bed, on the odd chance that one of those folks might be ready to make me his/her victim.

there aren't enough of them; therefore, it's up individuals to take some responsibility for their own security. I'd strongly suggest women and men be careful walking around alone in certain places after dark, early AM. Most similar attacks involve people in places at odd hours of the day, especially after dark. Unless you can adequately defend yourself, you should be very careful choosing where you go for a walk, like parks such as the esplanade, after dark, late night, early AM.

NO, THIS IS NOT BLAMING THE VICTIM. Just be aware it may not be 'fair', and yes we all have a perfect right to go where we want in public, but unfortunately there are predatory individuals who don't obey laws, and are out to violate others. Again, law enforcement aren't capable of being everywhere, and will usually only show up after the fact.

to let people make choices that can proactively help keep themselves safe, rather than leaving their personal safety up to the whims of others to obey the law.

Also, it's now legal to carry pepper spray without a permit. If you're someone who needs to, or otherwise opts to, frequent places like the Esplanade at night, it would be wise to avail oneself of this law and purchase some.

It is NOT legal to carry pepper spray without a firearms permit at present.

The bill that would do this is unsigned on the governors desk. Due to errors in section numbering of the bill it is unclear what the implementation date of that change would be if signed. Probably Jan 1 2015.

Also, there are substantial limits to who may carry self defense spray even once the new law is implemented and selling such spray will still require a ammunition sellers license so it is unlikely to be readily available except at gun stores.

I would never blame the victim in a situation like this, but I might ask, "what the hell were you thinking?" Those are two very different things.

I only see one instance here of something that could be considered victim-blaming. Otherwise, it's a fair question to ask: why would anyone choose to be alone in an isolated place in the middle of a city? Boston seems to be relatively safe downtown, and it's great if citizens feel safe anywhere, anytime. Great, but perhaps naive. We also have a lot of transplants from places where personal safety just isn't a concern.

I personally would never choose to be alone in a park in any city in the middle of the night. And if I ever have a child, male of female, I will do everything I can to be certain they understand their actions can directly and indirectly have very negative consequences.

When the male humanzee does some dim risky thing it's okay to assume he's an idiot.

In order to arrive at true gender equality we need to recognize that either everyone who does dim risky things is an idiot or no one is.

Yes, some day over the rainbow, the happy go lucky humanzees will skip friskily through the dark in desolate places without encountering anything much more hazardous than some slouching river rat.

Til then, always remember. It's different for de wimmenz.

I remember when some guy in southwest Washington got bit by his 'pet' rattlesnake when trying to kiss it in some drunk stunt.

There wasn't much of a rising hew and cry about victim blaming when the papers filled with predictable 'what an idiot' comments.

Once upon a time I played an alto saxophone on a Longfellow Bridge parapet as a wee hour serenade to the esplanade but if someone mugged me I'd have concluded I deserved it for doing a dumb risky thing.

Pretending that Boston is Mister Rogers Neighborhood won't make it so and a sober sense of its still lurking squalor and madness used to be called Prudence.

The fact that this seems to happen with some degree of frequency in that specific spot of the Esplanade near the Mass Ave Bridge makes me wonder just what is going on around there. Why is this a spot that so many women seem to be walking around alone late at night? Is it common to see a lot of pedestrians there in the late hours? Are there no alternate routes? I am a man, and if I needed to be somewhere near the Mass Ave Bridge late at night my first choice of how to get there would not be via the Esplanade.

I'm a big burly guy and when I lived in the SoEnd, I often went to the esplanade at 3am when I had my bouts of insomnia.

Its actually very tranquil and peaceful down there at that hour, especially earlier in the week (weekends are different) No bikers, no traffic on storrow, no boats, no runners. no, nobody. You can sit on the rivers edge and hear the water crash against the shore. Its very soothing.

Of course, because there's no one there, its also a prime target for folks walking alone. Yeah I am a big guy so I am rarely challenged (most walk away from me since I resemble a mountain when my beard is un-kept).

But I did see a few sketchy people out there at times... homeless, crackheads, and general questionable people roaming around like cast members of "night of the living dead". And the outer peninsula near the hatch shell is also a pickle park too. (but rarely at that hour)